Page 42 of Reckless Games

“I’m heading to dinner,” I say to Cillian. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“And what about me?” Evan snips from his chair, looking like a child about to have a tantrum. Delusional enough to think I won’t cut his tongue out if he keeps talking.

“You’ll be going home.” I narrow my gaze. “After all, I’m sure there’s no place you’d rather spend your New Year’s than with your wife and children.”

There’s nothing I find more disgusting than people who aren’t loyal. Why make the commitment if you’re going to betray it?

If anything, I’m the opposite, willing to go to any extreme to prove my devotion. In business, I’ll burn their empires to secure my own. And with Lake, I’ll do much worse. In the six months I’ve been focused on her, my attention hasn’t once been diverted. There’s no woman in this universe worth looking at when she’s the center of it.

Turning my back on Evan, I make my way to the door, an unsettling feeling in my gut. I need to find Lake. She’s had all day to think, and after Evan’s comment, I don’t like that I’m not near her. I might be a patient man, but her time is up.

I’ve given Lake the afternoon. I’ve gifted her the space she said she needed. But the countdown is done. I promised I’d see this through with her until New Year's, and I don’t go back on my word.

13

Lakeyn

Peacesweepsovermeas I walk into the dining hall.

Acceptance.

Adam is not a conventional man. I’d be lying if I tried to convince myself he is. I knew from the beginning he was someone with darkness inside him. Someone with unique tastes in bed. A man who hosts week-long sex-filled getaways for the rich and elite. A man who isn’t just powerful because of his money, but because something about his presence demands it.

I fell for a man who is challenging. Who looks at me like I don’t have to be the perfect cookie-cutter version of whatever Josh expected. Adam accepted me with holes ripped through me, half-broken. He saw the beauty in me anyway.

Acceptance.

All afternoon I struggled with his methods of pursuing me. How he watched me from afar. How he lured me in.

I should be sickened by it. Or at the very least, afraid. And maybe it’s wrong that I came to the opposite realization. But Adam saw me for exactly who I am—boring, ordinary, small-town—and still, not once has he tried to make me change.

He’d rather I embrace my interests, test my limits, and explore than reduce myself.

So if I only have a few days before reality inevitably crashes down on us, I want to spend them with him. Whatever risk he’ll work me out of his system is worth it. I’d rather believe in us now than give us up forever.

He promised to test me, to push me, to break me. And I’m not callingmidnightyet.

I run my hands down the front of my beaded dress. It’s black and silver, and expensive. It molds to my body just like the last dress Adam gifted me. But while that one had room to move, this one hugs every curve. As if he memorized my exact measurements with his touch.

Two thin straps hold it on my shoulders, and the neckline dips like a heart, showing off curves that are otherwise unimpressive.

“You feeling better?” Stella asks.

Her red hair is pulled up in a tight ponytail, showing off every inch of her bare arms in her strapless green gown.

“Much.” I can’t help but smile.

“Then go find your man and make him grovel.” Winking at me, she dips away.

Stella has been spending the week playing my opposite. While I can’t peel my attention from Adam, she’s having fun with a variety of options. I’m sure that’s the safer route in the long run. But as the crowd parts and my eyes connect with Adam’s, it doesn’t matter. My heart’s going to be branded with him by the time this week is done.

Adam’s stare is a gravitational pull I can’t resist. All I can do is stare back. Watch him from across the room like it will solve the mess this is going to leave once it’s over. And when he can’t resist any longer, he starts in my direction.

The universe tilts on its axis. The room flips, and my insides flutter. We’re surrounded by sex, money, opulence. But it all fades away.

When he stops in front of me looking sinful in his sharp black suit, my heart might as well cave in on itself at the tick of a smile he offers me.

“May I have this dance?” Adam holds out his hand, static electricity sparking when I take it and he guides me to the center of the room.

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